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Originally posted by keftiu

For the unaware, a lengthy reveal stream happened today: https://youtu.be/XJhawYZwvPI

It looks like a lot like Divinity: Original Sin 2, which should be no surprise. Gameplay is real time until you enter combat, where it becomes turn-based. The premise is that you (and presumably, all the companions) have been implanted with a mind flayer tadpole, but escaped captivity and are looking for a cure (and probably also to stop whatever they’ve attacking cities for).

Launching in Early Access at some unspecified time in the future with only some of the content the full game will have; limited Races (Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Drow, Githyanki, Tiefling, Half-Elf, Half-Drow) and Classes (Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, Cleric, Ranger, Warlock). Based on 5e. You can choose a Background from those in the 5e PHB, but we didn’t see what that did.

Like OS2, you can either choose a pregen character or make your own, and the pregens all appear as party members. Early Access has Lae’zal (a Githyanki Fighter hoping to return to her people), Gale (a Human Wizard with a “Netherese Destruction Orb beating in his chest,” capable of leveling a city - he’s hoping to take care of that, is described as power-hungry, and in the game led with a kind of racist comment about the Rashemi), Asterion (a High Elf Rogue and vampire spawn whose infection has apparently made him a daywalker - they played as him and had unique dialogue options for being a vampire, and he had an internal monologue that mentioned he was attracted to men), Wynn (a Human Warlock who apparently works as a monster hunter and wants out of his pact), and Shadowheart (a Half-Elf Cleric of Shar, having doubts about her faith after failing on a suicide mission). Wynn wasn’t in this stream, but everyone else was.

I suspect a lot of folks are mad it doesn’t resemble the old Baldur’s Gate games, or seem to have any link to the Bhaalspawn story, but it looks really, really solid on its own merit. I’m keen to play it, though it’ll likely be years until the console port. Very surprised to not see Half-Orc or Paladin in the early release.

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Originally posted by Gyor

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/The_Absolute

This part of what we know about the Absolute so far.

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quote:

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Originally posted by keftiu

quote:

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Originally posted by Gyor

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/The_Absolute

This part of what we know about the Absolute so far.

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Any guesses?

We know the Dead Three are in the mix somehow, too.

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quote:

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Originally posted by keftiu

quote:

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Originally posted by Gyor

https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/The_Absolute

This part of what we know about the Absolute so far.

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Any guesses?

We know the Dead Three are in the mix somehow, too.

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quote:

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Originally posted by keftiu

For the unaware, a lengthy reveal stream happened today: https://youtu.be/XJhawYZwvPI

It looks like a lot like Divinity: Original Sin 2, which should be no surprise. Gameplay is real time until you enter combat, where it becomes turn-based. The premise is that you (and presumably, all the companions) have been implanted with a mind flayer tadpole, but escaped captivity and are looking for a cure (and probably also to stop whatever they’ve attacking cities for).

Launching in Early Access at some unspecified time in the future with only some of the content the full game will have; limited Races (Human, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling, Drow, Githyanki, Tiefling, Half-Elf, Half-Drow) and Classes (Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, Cleric, Ranger, Warlock). Based on 5e. You can choose a Background from those in the 5e PHB, but we didn’t see what that did.

Like OS2, you can either choose a pregen character or make your own, and the pregens all appear as party members. Early Access has Lae’zal (a Githyanki Fighter hoping to return to her people), Gale (a Human Wizard with a “Netherese Destruction Orb beating in his chest,” capable of leveling a city - he’s hoping to take care of that, is described as power-hungry, and in the game led with a kind of racist comment about the Rashemi), Asterion (a High Elf Rogue and vampire spawn whose infection has apparently made him a daywalker - they played as him and had unique dialogue options for being a vampire, and he had an internal monologue that mentioned he was attracted to men), Wynn (a Human Warlock who apparently works as a monster hunter and wants out of his pact), and Shadowheart (a Half-Elf Cleric of Shar, having doubts about her faith after failing on a suicide mission). Wynn wasn’t in this stream, but everyone else was.

I suspect a lot of folks are mad it doesn’t resemble the old Baldur’s Gate games, or seem to have any link to the Bhaalspawn story, but it looks really, really solid on its own merit. I’m keen to play it, though it’ll likely be years until the console port. Very surprised to not see Half-Orc or Paladin in the early release.

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Originally posted by cpthero2

Learned Scribe keftiu,

I really hope that they add in actual RP classes that amount to being a diplomancer, etc.

My actual preference would be if they added in largely, non-combat options, such as focused diviners, etc.

Best regards,

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quote:

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Originally posted by keftiu

quote:

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Originally posted by cpthero2

Learned Scribe keftiu,

I really hope that they add in actual RP classes that amount to being a diplomancer, etc.

My actual preference would be if they added in largely, non-combat options, such as focused diviners, etc.

Best regards,

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Given how proud they are of their engine for turn-based combat (and the fact that 5e class design is just as focused on combat as 4e was, they just hide it better) I wouldn’t hold your breath. They’re trying hard to make this a 5e adaptation where they can and those options don’t really exist in that system.

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Originally posted by keftiu

FWIW, the main reason I stopped playing D&D and adjacent systems was because of the obsession with combat. I haven't used a d20 game in years, in favor of stuff in the storygame space that prioritizes more emotional storytelling.

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

quote:

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Originally posted by keftiu

FWIW, the main reason I stopped playing D&D and adjacent systems was because of the obsession with combat. I haven't used a d20 game in years, in favor of stuff in the storygame space that prioritizes more emotional storytelling.

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It's odd that you say this, with your signature proclaiming your love of 4E. That ruleset seemed to make anything non-combat purely an afterthought.

That said, I don't think most D20 systems are obsessed with combat, as much as it is that they're simply more focused on the combat that people expect in their games. Ultimately, it's up to the DM and their players to decide how much combat is in the game.

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quote:

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Originally posted by keftiu

FWIW, the main reason I stopped playing D&D and adjacent systems was because of the obsession with combat. I haven't used a d20 game in years, in favor of stuff in the storygame space that prioritizes more emotional storytelling.

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Originally posted by LordofBones

Divination magic is fundamentally difficult to implement in a CRPG. That's why adaptations keep the buff spells but don't port the more esoteric spells over.

Kingmaker is noteworthy in that the diviner wizard is arguably the strongest specialization because of its school powers, but has the tiniest amount of specialized spells.

Anyway, I pretty much expected Original Sin 2 in a D&D chassis, so I got what I expected. I'm more hyped up for Wrath of the Righteous and its implementation of mythic paths (I get to be a lich! Wheeee!)

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

quote:

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Originally posted by keftiu

FWIW, the main reason I stopped playing D&D and adjacent systems was because of the obsession with combat. I haven't used a d20 game in years, in favor of stuff in the storygame space that prioritizes more emotional storytelling.

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It's odd that you say this, with your signature proclaiming your love of 4E. That ruleset seemed to make anything non-combat purely an afterthought.

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Originally posted by Wooly RupertThat said, I don't think most D20 systems are obsessed with combat, as much as it is that they're simply more focused on the combat that people expect in their games. Ultimately, it's up to the DM and their players to decide how much combat is in the game.

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Originally posted by Diffan

quote:

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Originally posted by Wooly Rupert

quote:

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Originally posted by keftiu

FWIW, the main reason I stopped playing D&D and adjacent systems was because of the obsession with combat. I haven't used a d20 game in years, in favor of stuff in the storygame space that prioritizes more emotional storytelling.

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It's odd that you say this, with your signature proclaiming your love of 4E. That ruleset seemed to make anything non-combat purely an afterthought.

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It's unfortunate that over a decade after 4e came out this mentality about said edition is still perpetuated. And as I get roped into the discussion again, I have to ask what - specifically speaking- was so glaringly missing non-combat wise from 4e that was so heavily focused on with other editions?

The system has lots of skills, but maybe you mean skills like Profession or Performance? Not that the system didn't discourage players from trying to do performance or take a job, but that these specific notions aren't well served by one single roll vs. DC. Maybe actually role-playing a performance or speaking with people to get a job and applying multiple skills to said job makes for a more fulfilling experience than "I roll for Profession (teach) for a week" and get 3gp....*yawn*.

Maybe you're talking about a player that doesn't want to take ANY combat options and wants to remain a sort of pacifist. That's certainly do-able but what would best fulfill this concept is simply making an NPC with a small set of non-combat options instead of trying to force adventuring-style classes into a role that isn't made for?

Maybe we're talking about non-combat spells? Well luckily there's hundreds of Rituals to choose from! There's also utility spells and Martial Rituals that are non-combat focused. Not to mention loads of Magical items that are not specifically combat oriented.

Maybe we're talking about Paragon Paths and their powers? Certainly there combat focused like Prestige Classes were but yet quite a few were far more focused on out-of-combat aspects than one might think. This was usually a feature of utility power that added some effect to a skill check or maybe interaction with some unique species. I could make a list of you really want.

The fact is, and I've been stressing this for 8 years, that because 4e used color-coded boxes and didn't have similar interior design of character options that previous editions had it simply "looked" too different despite the multitude of similarities. I can just point to 5e and how much design concepts were taken straight from 4e and given a 'familiar glow' to make people appreciate the design.

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Originally posted by Wooly RupertThat said, I don't think most D20 systems are obsessed with combat, as much as it is that they're simply more focused on the combat that people expect in their games. Ultimately, it's up to the DM and their players to decide how much combat is in the game.

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Now that's well said and I'd say that goes for most systems, and also for how much role-play that goes into the session. How much of either, combat or RP, that goes into a game is group dependant and not what the system is

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Originally posted by keftiu

(I’m a huge 4e fan, but this isn’t exactly the thread to rehash mechanical arguments about the editions. Can we please take it elsewhere?)

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Originally posted by cpthero2

Great Reader Diffan,

I'd love to discuss this with you. I'll keep an eye out for you getting this argument going somewhere else. Please copy and paste. I like your argument.

Best regards,

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quote:

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Originally posted by Diffan

quote:

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Originally posted by cpthero2

Great Reader Diffan,

I'd love to discuss this with you. I'll keep an eye out for you getting this argument going somewhere else. Please copy and paste. I like your argument.

Best regards,

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Ok, maybe you can PM me some suggestions as to what to title the thread to create a discussion around the topic so it doesn't just devolve into bashing threat of edition warring.

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Originally posted by keftiu

Ongoing AMA on Reddir about this with the devs, but a few notable details caught my eye:

-If you make a custom character who isn’t a drow or a githyanki, they’ll be assumed to be a native of Baldur’s Gate, which none of the premade characters are.
-The final release will have all PHB class options, but Early Access will just be Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, Rogue, Warlock, Ranger.

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Originally posted by Tanthalas

The game will only go to level 10, or early access?

If the game is capped at level 10, we can probably expect at least an expansion. Probably a sequel.

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